2 Kings 6:33
in 2 Kings 6While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And while he was yet talking with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of Jehovah; why should I wait for Jehovah any longer?
KJV
And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer?
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This verse in 2 Kings 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The messenger - It has been proposed to change “messenger” into “king,” the two words being in Hebrew nearly alike, and the speech with which the chapter ends being considered only suitable in the mouth of the king, whose presence is indicated in 2Ki 7:2, 2Ki 7:17. Others think that the words “and the king after him” have fallen out of the text. Came down - The messenger came down from off the wall to the level of the streets.
This site's exposition
God do so and more also to me
on 2 Kings 6:31-33
The king swears an oath to have Elisha's head before the day ends, naming him son of a murderer rather than prophet, laying blame on the man who warned him rather than on the sin that brought the siege. Elisha, sitting with the elders, already knows the messenger is coming and has the door held against him, telling them to listen for the sound of his master's feet close behind, the king following his own errand in person. When the king himself arrives he speaks the chapter's last line, this evil is of the Lord, what should I wait for the Lord any longer, laying the famine at God's door in the same breath he has just laid the prophet's death at his own hand.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
This evil - This dreadful famine, which is now so extreme, that women are forced to eat their own children. The Lord - Hath inflicted it, and (for ought I see) he will not remove it. All penal evil is of the Lord, as the first cause and sovereign judge.
): This evil is of the Lord. Therein his notions were right and well applied; it is a general truth that all penal evil is of the Lord, as the first cause, and sovereign judge ( Amos iii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And while he yet talked with them,....
Concerning the sons of the prophets, and their condition and character. The college here spoken of seems to be that at Gilgal, for there Elisha was ( ch. iv. 38 ), and it was near Jordan; and, probably, wherever Elisha resided as many as could of the sons of the prophets flocked to him for the advantage of his instructions, counsels, and prayers.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Behold, this evil is of the Lord - It is difficult to know whether it be the prophet, the messenger, or the king, that says these words. It might be the answer of the prophet from within to the messenger who was without, and who sought for admission, and gave his reason; to whom Elisha might have replied: “I am not the cause of these calamities; they are from the Lord; I have been praying for their removal; but why should I pray to the Lord any longer, for the time of your deliverance is at hand?” And then Elisha said, - see the following chapter, 2 Kings 7 (note), where the removal of the calamity is foretold in the most explicit manner; and indeed the chapter is unhappily divided from this. The seventh chapter should have begun with 2Ki 6:24 of this chapter, as, by the present division, the story is unnaturally interrupted. How natural is it for men to lay the cause of their suffering on any thing or person but themselves! Ahab’s iniquity was sufficient to have brought down God’s displeasure on a whole nation; and yet he takes no blame to himself, but lays all on the prophet, who was the only salt that preserved the whole nation from corruption. How few take their sins to themselves! and till they do this, they cannot be true penitents; nor can they expect God’s wrath to be averted till they feel themselves the chief of sinners.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עוֹדֶ֙נּוּ֙ | odenu | still he | H5750 → | 490 times |
| מְדַבֵּ֣ר | medaber | [was] speaking | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| עִמָּ֔ם | ʾimam | with them | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֥ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הַמַּלְאָ֖ךְ | hamalakh | the messenger | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יֹרֵ֣ד | yored | [was] coming down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| אֵלָ֑יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנֵּֽה־ | hineh- | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| זֹ֤את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| הָֽרָעָה֙ | haraah | the calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| מֵאֵ֣ת | meet | [is] from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מָֽה־ | mah- | why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אוֹחִ֥יל | ʾochil | will I wait | H3176 → | |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | for Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עֽוֹד׃ ס | od | still | H5750 → | 490 times |
עוֹדֶ֙נּוּ֙still he
odenuH5750 →490 times
מְדַבֵּ֣ר[was] speaking
medaberH1696 →1141 times
עִמָּ֔םwith them
ʾimamH5973 →1050 times
וְהִנֵּ֥הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
הַמַּלְאָ֖ךְthe messenger
hamalakhH4397 →213 times
יֹרֵ֣ד[was] coming down
yoredH3381 →381 times
אֵלָ֑יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הִנֵּֽה־here!
hineh-H2009 →843 times
זֹ֤אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
הָֽרָעָה֙the calamity
haraahH7451 →662 times
מֵאֵ֣ת[is] from with
meetH854 →929 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מָֽה־why?
mah-H4100 →752 times
אוֹחִ֥ילwill I wait
ʾochilH3176 →
לַיהוָ֖הfor Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
עֽוֹד׃ סstill
odH5750 →490 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 26:3You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
it leads to
- Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
- John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
- Jeremiah 17:7–8
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
- Psalms 9:10
Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
- Philippians 4:7
Through
Proverbs 19:3A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.
it leads to
- Revelation 16:9–11
And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues; yet they did not repent and give Him glory.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 16:9–11
Through
Job 2:9Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”
it leads to
- Job 1:11
But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 2:3
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.…
- Job 1:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.